Student Creativity: One Judge’s Thoughts

Posted on November 21, 2011 by The Pick

Julie Lieberman from SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, recently invited me to speak to the illustration department students about marketing and promotion. We made it fun with a contest to design an Altpick postcard that would be sent out to art directors and creative directors in the industry. At the end of the presentation, we reviewed the finalists and announced first, second and third place winners.  Not so easy. The concepts and illustrations were incredibly well-done.  Here are the runner-ups:

Sayada Ramdial‘s piece was funny and nicely illustrated with ‘Altpick.com’ prominently displayed.

Molly Lawrence’s beautifully executed piece had a subtle and quiet message.

Ashley Mercer‘s type treatment prominently displays ‘Altpick.com’ and the circus theme is a fun way to get someone’s attention.

Ashley’s  postcard side B is strong and can stand alone.  If used together, both side A and B may conflict.  I love the way Ashley brought in the different categories around the border.

Charlotte Jackson’s retro approach appeals to my sensibility and I love the use of minimal color.

Here is my favorite.  This has the punch (no pun intended) and Jack Finch‘s graphic design approach to his illustration has the right message for the audience Altpick is trying to reach.
Jack’s postcard side B: I love the type treatment, however, it needs a little more art direction and reorganizing the space for a stamp, return address, contact info and send to address space. However, it can be easily fixed and therefore this is my first place winner for the SCAD’s Altpick Postcard contest. Great work, Jack.

The three runners-up won a free year membership on Altpick.com.  Thank you to everyone who participated. You made the winning entry a difficult choice by creating great pieces!

– Maria Ragusa-Burfield – Owner and Founder of Alternative Pick and Altpick.com

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Korn Session by Rick Wenner

Posted on November 18, 2011 by The Pick


I was in between meetings at a portfolio review event in New York City last week when I received a phone call from a number that looked very familiar. When I answered the call I was happy to hear that it was Roadrunner Records on the other end. They were in a tight bind and needed me to shoot Korn for their publicity photos. Being a long time fan of the band I immediately jumped at the opportunity. I have been listening to Korn’s music for a long time now. I remember during my high school years hanging out at my friend Matty’s house when I was first introduced to their music. Matty played “Children Of The Korn”, which featured Ice Cube on the track, because he knew that I was more into hip hop back then. I was instantly hooked after listening to that song. I’d later find myself listening to their first album “Korn” on repeat throughout high school and then adding “Life Is Peachy” and “Follow The Leader” throughout college. Although I was listening to a lot more hip hop those days, Korn’s music was always a welcome change when I needed something much harder. Although their style did change a little as they recorded a few more albums and I began to lose interest due to these changes, I was very impressed with their MTV Unplugged album. Combining their sound in an acoustic set along with Japanese drums and other unique instruments and collaborating with artists like Robert Smith and The Cure and Amy Lee of Evanescence made this album a welcome addition to my CD case (remember those?).


As I mentioned, this shoot came together very quickly, with only a few days to schedule the shoot, find a location and all the other details that are entailed in a shoot like this. Korn was performing at The Paramount in Huntington, NY on Sunday, November 6th and I was scheduled to shoot with the guys a few hours before their show. The day before the shoot I drove up to Huntington to do some location scouting. I was hunting for a place that would suit Korn’s new album “The Path Of Totality” but also pay homage to the albums that made them icons. In a town like Huntington this turned out to be an impossible task as I walked for hours and not finding a single location that would work for my vision. That was until when I was walking back to my truck and passed the restaurant Honu on New York Ave. I walked in and spoke with the manager about what I was interested in doing and they were more than happy to allow us to shoot in the restaurant. On the day of the shoot my assistant Dan Gottesman and I set up for two locations within Honu and were ready to go. Unfortunately, after about an hour of setting up and light tests, management told us that we were going to have to photograph Korn in the venue across the street. Hey, these things happen and you’ve got to be ready for it and perform like a professional.


After breaking down the two sets and moving the gear across the street, it was time to find a new location within a very tight timeframe. The Paramount is a newly renovated venue which worked out amazingly well to accomplish what I needed to do. As you walk to the main floor of the venue, you walk beneath two stairways going through a wide hallway with black metal rods and pipes aligned vertically. I decided this would work great for one of two setups. Lighting for this setup was fairly simple. I used a 69″ Elinchrom Octa high overhead and in front of the band as my key light. This worked fine but I needed to get some highlights on those metal bars on either side of the band. To achieve that look, I had two Elinchrom Ranger Quadras (one on each side) placed behind and to the side of the band on the opposite sides of the bars set at the lowest power. Now I had a nice looking photo of the band from these three lights but the photo was still not exactly what I wanted due to the stage lights directly behind the band. The crew was getting everything ready for the night’s show and this caused a problem for my photos. Luckily I was able to block out those stage lights with a 9′ seamless that I brought for a backup plan in case I couldn’t find a decent location and also to shoot solo portraits with. The seamless was set up directly behind the band and did an excellent job blocking out the stage lights.

After we completed this first set up with the metal bars, I had the guys walk around to the opposite side of the seamless for a few group portraits and solo portraits. The first two group portraits of this blog post are from this setup using a photo that I took while location scouting in Manhattan a few months ago as the background. Below are my solo portraits of the band, which I kept very minimal using only the 69″ Octa.

Jonathan Davis

Munky

Fieldy

Ray Luzier

Written by Rick Wenner  –  All images Copyrighted by Rick Wenner                                          To see more go to Rick’s Altpick Page and Website.  To read more of Rick’s posts go to his Blog.

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Anastasia Vasilakis’ 25 Days In Berlin

Posted on November 15, 2011 by The Pick
These images are my travelogue of the 25 days I spent in Berlin. I jumped the sea to see where a new love would go. I followed my heart and a voice. Literally. Berlin was the backdrop to the mysterious, lush, all consuming, sensual mechanics of chemistry.
These images are the conversations that ensued during my stay there. The structure of thought, how people moved and interacted with one another, the signage, the light, the flow of traffic, the unexpected forests, and the gardens and lakes all spill into and inform this work. 
And on the outer edge of this emotional map is the remarkable diverse architecture of Berlin, the language, the wall, and the historical legacy. In Berlin I found out that wanting more is ok. Experiencing more is ok. More perfect is even better. I was taken out of the sometimes isolated life of an artist. Tossed out of my Brooklyn same old same old. The world became buoyant in Berlin, yet ironically, I felt completely invisible except in one person’s eyes. 
These drawings were made during the last days before my departure. And the experience that informs them have made them lighter and more open than my work just months before. They are new every sense.
–Anastasia Vasilakis
See more of Anastasia’s work on her website and  Altpick.com.
Contact Anastasia directly to purchase her work.
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Is Social Media Crucial or Trivial?

Posted on November 8, 2011 by The Pick

Courtesy of Agency Access: http://agencyaccess.com

To tweet or not to tweet? Not such a silly question these days. Do you show the man (warts and all) behind the wizard? Do they want the wizard after all? And not the less than glossy behind-the-mask character? Can you juggle social media and your social calendar? How do creatives feel about Facebook? Yes, potential clients can find you if you’re social. But did you know they can also judge you?

Watch + Discover from: Cindy Hicks of The Martin Agency, Kat Dalager of Campbell Mithun, photographer Chris Buck, photographer Nick Onken, Rob Haggart of A Photo Folio and Cynthia Held of Held & Associates, Jed Root of Jed Root, Inc., and photographer Michael Grecco.

So. Is social media crucial or trivial? We want to know. Yes, we do.

Check out Agency Access’ The Lab for more: http://lab.agencyaccess.com

 

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Verona Italy: A Cornucopia of Culture

Posted on November 3, 2011 by The Pick

Verona, the original, home of Romeo and Juliet, is a relatively small city. Notwithstanding this, it’s gusto for culture is big and global. The mix runs from traditional to cutting edge, frequently hand in hand.

A September weekend is a perfect example. Palazzo Forti Gallery, an important city run modern art venue opened a new show of local artists called The Gentlemen of Verona (Women are included), Peter Pan was onstage in the two thousand year old Roman Coliseum known as The Arena, at the fairgrounds the Marmomacc marble fair (perhaps the most important in the world) was ongoing, Tocati (Tag, you’re it) (or more simply, your turn), presented it’s ninth annual street games festival, the Masi Foundation held a gala awards presentation honoring outstanding individuals in different cultural categories and various galleries held openings, at least one of which hosted live jazz to set the mood for paintings of major jazz musicians. I am absolutely certain I’ve missed something here but you get the idea.

Masi awards reception - 2011 Carol Schultheiss in Cavallini

Obviously I couldn’t attend all, multiple events were scheduled for the same time, but I managed a good sampling.

Verona is a world center for marble. Its annual Marmomacc fair does not disappoint visitors. World-class designers, architects and building industry experts converge for days of seminars, round table discussions and meetings. Massive stone is everywhere you look, as are the equally massive machines used to move and work the stones. Marble comes in colors you couldn’t imagine. It is worked into forms you couldn’t imagine. Walls of sinuous three dimensional waves for your home or office, bath tubs that seem to be fountains stolen from a piazza at night, landscape pieces, large, robust items and delicate twining floral inlays. It all travels from the furthest points of the globe for you to admire here. Verona itself is known for a red marble that fades to a light pink in the sun. You can look down and admire it under your feet everywhere, as the sidewalks are made from slabs of it. You might even find a fossil preserved underfoot. Marble makes for a perfect meeting of world culture and Veronese culture, an ancient and prestigious material still in style after thousands of years.

Friday evening found me following the opening festivities for Tocati. This year eight countries from around the world participated with their traditional games and entertainment. Speeches, parades  and small tastes of the different offerings started things off. At nine the entertainment started on stage. A music group from Croatia led things, followed by Taiwanese acrobats, a musical face off between a Swede and a Neapolitan, all brought to a rousing dance finale in the piazza by a Mariachi band playing those classics we all know and love.

Mexican Game Players at Opening Ceremonies - Carol Schultheiss in Cavallini

This year’s international flavor gave emphasis to Verona hosting the first World Congress for ITSGA (International Traditional Sports and games Association). Unesco was present for this big step in making known the importance of traditional games as part of the World’s cultural heritage. Presentations and seminars took place indoors while games were played outdoors (mostly). Saturday, I had great fun learning Russian Dance Games inside an old deconsecrated church. Brasil, Taiwan, Mexico, Algeria, Congo, Iran, Portugal and Sweden scattered across the city to play with the Italians and all visitors.

Mexican Game Players - Carol Schultheiss in Cavallini

Saturday night the Masi Foundation took over the Philharmonic Hall to present their Thirtieth Awards for cultural excellence. There are three awards. The First is the Grosso d’Oro Veneziano prize given for spreading a global message of solidarity, civilization and peace. This year the award went to Don Luigi Mazzucato, founder of the medical association CUAMM working in Africa. The Civiltà del Vino prize was awarded to Jaques Orhon, a French sommelier journalist who lives and works in Canada and who is considered the most authoritative individual, on Italian wine, within the Francophile world. The last prize for Civiltà Veneta was awarded to three individuals who have garnered international importance even as they maintain and honor their Veneto roots. They are Giuseppe Battiston, a marvelous actor, Arrigo Cipriani of Harry’s Bar, always associated with Italian Quality ( and Hemingway), and Massimo Marchiori, the mathematician who invented the Algorithm on which Google’s search engine is based. After the presentations the evening continued with a reception in the adjoining Lapidary Museum courtyard where guests sipped Masi wines and lined up to chat with the award winners.

Verona is famous for its “star crossed” lovers and is visited for it’s ancient monuments. But cultural exploration and growth continues and evolves in new directions. No one is more aware of past excellence and the need to carry it forward than the Veronese themselves. The challenge is in respecting the roots while moving forward. A thought underscored by a small scene as I left Tocati late Sunday morning; in the middle of the festivities a row of classic Nonne Italiane (Italian grandmothers) sat shoulder to shoulder knitting away. Some traditions should never die.

Written by our Italy Correspondent and Artist Carol Schultheiss in Cavallini

For more information:

www.fondazionemasi.com

www.tocati.it

www.marmomacc.it

Posted in Art, Event, Festival, Italy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Head Hunter On the Loose

Posted on October 26, 2011 by The Pick

Pele - copyrighted by Graeme Bandeira

If Graeme Bandeira isn’t chasing a football around the pitch, he can be found chasing footballers around with an ink-loaded mapping pen. Bandeira’s self-promotional project combines his appreciation of some of the world’s greatest players with his love of pen and ink.

Diego Maradona - copyrighted by Graeme Bandeira

“I intend to do a series, but when that series will end I do not know. The possibilities for a project like this are endless. I have endeavoured to make the series look like a set of cigarette cards, something that a football fan would like to collect, whilst maintaining a contemporary feel. I have taken great delight in watching these players play, and have just as much satisfaction transposing their characters and personalities onto paper!” — Graeme Bandeira

Bryan Robson - copyrighted by Graeme Bandeira

This illustrator can draw more than curtains, people. Quirky Middlesbrough-born personality complete with accent thrown in willy-nilly. You’ve been duly warned.

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Dear Petunia,

Posted on October 24, 2011 by The Pick

2011 Denise Hilton Campbell

Never mind you are what you eat. Consider you are what you paint.

Artist/illustrator/watercolorist Denise Hilton Campbell’s above watercolor rendition of petunias suggests naturally that she is a lover of botanicals. View her collective works and we add people lover and foodie to the list.

An illustrator of books, advertising art, fine art prints and commissioned work, her preferred expression is Watercolor. Her client list would agree.

Moved by nature, both exquisite (petunias) and devastating (Japan), she captures the simple act of the everyday into a myriad of emotions with ethereal brushstrokes. Lovingly for the drooping petals of a happily exhausted flower. Tearfully in the running watercolors of a tribute to a country’s unthinkable nightmare.

“But it’s an artist thing.  Somehow you have to get it out of your head and onto the page and move on.” – dhc

See more of Denise’s work on her Website  and her Altpick Page.



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1 Photographer – 4 Teeth = The Deadliest Catch

Posted on October 19, 2011 by The Pick

How many photographers have ripped their teeth out for a campaign?

About a year ago, when asked to shoot the Deadliest Catch campaign for Discovery, I was told of a campaign of violent, spontaneous portraits.  The concept was images of fishermen captured in the moment catastrophe struck.  The shots included giant ropes wrapping around the fishermen (which means death aboard a crab boat), one of a massive wave, and a final image of a large hook crushing in a man’s face. All of the shots would have to be layered, as my insurance is not good enough to crush models with hooks on set (and neither is my conscience).  To say that I was excited for this shoot would have been a great understatement, right up there with, “a couple people bought that new iPhone.”

We went ahead and did the shots, and they came out as planned, some near out of camera.  However, none saw the light of day.  You see, this campaign happened only days before the passing of Captain Phil.  In consideration for him it was deemed in bad taste to release such violent images depicting certain death on a crab boat.  I remember the call from Discovery telling me that the campaign I had shot would not be released.  It was disappointing,  but I also completely understood and respected their viewpoint.

With much time passing since this all occurred, I decided that the images should be released and I started looking into producing the finals myself. I contacted my friend Paul Hill to assist in retouching the plates we had made almost a year prior.  Not long after we started going through the files to make the images, we found that there had in fact been behind the scenes video from the set that was shot by a couple of my assistants, Mike and Paul.  The video is overall coverage and is actually more of them learning how to use the video mode on their Canon 5D Mk2′s.

, Now by this point you’re probably asking yourself, “what about the teeth?”  During the negotiations the idea of a crab fisherman getting his teeth knocked out kept coming up.  It made the action, it carried the frame, and frankly, it sounded awesome… I was sold.  I was so sold that I moved up an appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed so that I could use them for the shoot.  After all, what says, “hey, great idea” better than giving up part of your body for it?  (A funny little side note: Our prop stylist on set mention that the teeth looked real and asked where I sourced them and I said, “they’re mine”.  He didn’t believe me)

So with teeth, models, hooks and crab gear we went to the studio.

OK, the tech side of things…  For set we had to use all Profoto bi-tube heads, as we needed the smallest flash durations possible.  Also, we found that deforming the face with 3 high powered leaf blowers achieved the effect that we wanted for the final image, but that it was brutal on the ears, so we had the models wear ear plugs and removed them in post.  Here is the lighting diagram from set drawn a the napkin while brainstorming.

Written by Blair Bunting

To see more of Blair Bunting’s work go to his website and his Altpick page.

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Eddie Adams’ Workshop 2011

Posted on October 18, 2011 by The Pick

Kids walk up the hill to the barn when they arrived on day one © Todd Frantom

One hundred strong, they walked up the gravel laden hill having just stepped off a caravan of yellow school buses, phalanxed by an applauding gauntlet of a Who’s Who of photography professionals. Little do they know that four days later, when they walk down that same hill for the last time, their lives will have been changed forever. Welcome to the Eddie Adams Workshop!

For four intensive days, in a barn on top of that hill in the small community of Jeffersonville, nestled in the Catskill Mountains of New York, fifty students and fifty professionals (three years or less experience) were joined by dozens of the world’s top photographers, editors, educators and photographic suppliers. The faculty included photo editors from Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, People, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Detroit Free Press, The Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images…as well as many others. All who donated their time to the Workshop. And the cost to the students? None! It is tuition free as they earned their way in by portfolio review by the Workshop Board of Directors.

Alyssa Adams welcoming the students on day one © Todd Frantom

The students had a chance to have their portfolios reviewed by these professionals as well as the opportunity to work side by side with them during their team assignments. If a photographer were to try to schedule portfolio reviews on their own with all of these journalism luminaries, it might take them years. Yet, in one weekend in October, they are all there, and available!

The student’s schedule has the look and feel of a “boot camp,” with lectures, programs, panels, assignments, portfolio reviews, ceremonies, presentations and awards crammed into a four day period. And for many of the students, the “decompression” will not happen right away. A Barnstorm alumni student said; “You don’t realize what you’ve been through until about two days after you get home, it’s weird!” Workshop XIV student Evan Walker of Kennewick, Washington said; “I am a different photographer now. I feel like I am part of a movement in photography. Attending Barnstorm was the greatest experience of my life!”

“Barnstorm,” as it is also known, has reached a milestone. It will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. By then two thousand five hundred students will have passed through those barn doors. Many have gone on to flourishing careers of their own having gotten their feet wet in Jeffersonville. Notable alumni include: Kwaku Alston, Nancy Andrews, Kristen Ashburn, Karen Ballard, Molly Bingham, Zana Briski, Chien-Chi Chang, Sarah Friedman, Lauren Greenfield, Justin Guariglia, Naomi Harris, Chris Hondros, Brooks Kraft, Vincent Laforet, Rick Loomis, Jon Lowenstein, Brian Plonka, Stephanie Sinclair, Ami Vitale and Clarence Williams III. Many who come back as faculty or presenters.

Scott McIntyre receiving the “Sandy and Jay Colton Memorial Award,” which came with a cash award of $1,000 plus a guaranteed spot on the Black Team (volunteers) next year…hence the broom © Todd Frantom

Barnstorm was the pipe dream come true for its founder, Eddie Adams, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer perhaps most noted for his history changing image of a suspected Viet Cong informant being executed in the streets of Saigon. Many say that iconic image helped change the course of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War and sped up the withdrawal of US soldiers. Eddie openly hated talking about that picture but no one could deny its power. Eddie passed away in 2004 from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) but his spirit and the spirit of the Workshop are alive and well.

Bill Eppridge and David Hume Kennerly, featured speakers this year © Todd Frantom

The culmination of the workshop happened on the last night when the students received their awards ranging from equipment, to assignments to financial assistance for personal projects…all donated by faculty and amazing sponsors such as Nikon who has been with the workshop since its inception.

This year, there were also awards given in the memory of former student and Getty photographer Chris Hondros as well as Tim Hetherington…both who lost their lives covering the insurgency in Libya. Chris’ fiancée Christina Piaia was present to personally hand the award to this year’s recipient during a moving ceremony that all who attended will remember as long as they live.

Christina Piaia, Chris Hondros’ fiancé laying a flower at the memorial for photographers lost at war © Todd Frantom

The dictionary defines the word magic as: the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. There is no question in my mind, that there are mysterious and supernatural forces at work at Barnstorm. And it’s that “magic” that has drawn me back every October for the last 20 years.

James Ken Colton
Dateline: October, 2011, Jeffersonville, NY.

Reprinted with Permission from La Lettre de la Photographie and Photographer Todd Frantom.

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Wednesday’s Tip Jar :: Transformation

Posted on October 12, 2011 by The Pick

Tim Rasmussen. “A recovering photojournalist who stumbled into management and photo editing.” Transformed the photo department at The Denver Post over the 4 years. This is an incredible story.

Tim Rasmussen, assistant managing editor for photography at the Denver Post, shared some important tips at  a joint conference of the Associated Press Media Editors and the Associated Press Photo Managers workshop.   We would like to share the highlights with you:

What are your goals? What are your expectations? Are you willing to except more from yourself? Have you joined the ‘lower expectations’ support group just to get by? This is a difficult time in the biz for higher expectations, but this is exactly what we need for ourselves and our audience.

Is it possible to use photojournalism to make a difference in our community and world?  Can we affect the lives of our readers in small towns and large? Absolutely.

To make photographs that come from the heart should be the easy part if you care every time you take a picture because it shows.  Create the compelling images that gives our readers insight to their lives. Let the truth be our prejudice. Our readers will recognize it.

Create a work environment that challenges you to produce the best work of your career. Our environment affects us more than we realize. Attention must be paid.

What to expect? Engage in good communication. Editor-to-editor, photographer to reporter, photographer to client. Have ideas, follow-through and deliver on commitments. Whether you are a photojournalists, commercial or advertising photographer, you are all journalists.

Be great storytellers.

The Denver Post – all images are copyrighted

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